Lori's Technicolor Cake

Feeling creative in her kitchen, Lori experimented with cake batter and food coloring to create this surprise cake. She shared a piece of her magic with us.

Maine Crabmeat Breakfast Pie

 
The Arundel Meadows Inn is a 165-year-old farmhouse located near Kennebunkport, Maine. This is a house special. Joan decided on this overcast April Fools' Day to served it for brunch.

Ingredients:
8 large eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions (about 6)
1 large red ball pepper, cored, seeded and diced (1 cup)
6 ounces fresh or imitation crabmeat, torn in shreds
4 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded (1 cup)
4 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)
2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (from 3 slices of white bread)

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 10-inch quiche pan of shallow 2-quart baking dish.
2. Whisk eggs until blended. Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well.
   Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake 45  minutes or until set and knife inserted near center comes out clean.
   Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings

The April Fools' gremlins were playing havoc with the food chopper so Joan was unable to make bread crumbs. The dish did not suffer from this omission.

Shrimp & Feta Casserole

 
Joan was leafing through one of her favorite cookbooks, Gooseberry Patch - Big Book of Home Cooking, and came upon this recipe. What a surprise when I returned from hawk watching on Derby Hill to find this meal for dinner. Chunky salsa is the secret ingredient that makes this dinner savory.

Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. plain yogurt
3-oz. pkg. crumbled feta cheese
2 c. shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced
8-oz. pkg. angel hair pasta, cooked and divided
16-oz. jar chunky salsa
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled, cleaned and divided
8-oz. pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese

In a medium bowl, combine first 9 ingredients; set aside. Spread half the pasta in a greased 13"x9" baking pan. Cover with salsa; add half the shrimp. Spread remaining pasta over shrimp; top with egg mixture. Add remaining shrimp and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.

Hint: To bake this when you're on vacation, purchase a large disposable roasting pan for easy clean-up. French bread is perfect for sopping up the savory sauce.

Ratatouille

This southern French dish is made with eggplant, zucchini, onions, peppers, tomato, and garlic. There are many different variations, but this recipe is our favorite.

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 to 4 T. olive oil
2 zucchini, sliced
2 eggplants,, peeled and cubed
2 green peppers, sliced
28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 t. dried parsley
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
4 c. hot cooked rice

Saute onion and garlic inoil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients, except rice; simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Serve over cooked rice.

Serves 6 to 8.

Rush-hour Pork Stir-fry

Staying out of the red in the new black. Here is a recipe to make your dollars go further. This quick to make meal will help you make more for less.

What You Need:

1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into strips
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen stir-fry vegetables (yellow, red, and green peppers, onions)
1/4 cup Kraft Asian toasted Sesame Dressing
2 Tbsp. lite soy sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups broccoli slaw

Make It:

Heat large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add meat; stir-fry 5 min. or until lightly browned.
Add stir-fry vegetables, stir-fry 5 min. or until heated through. Stir in dressing, soy sauce and garlic powder; cook on medium heat 2 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Stir in broccoli slaw.

Shrimp & Feta Casserole

Chunky salsa is the secret ingredient in this savory dinner.

Using her cookbook, Gooseberry Patch Big Book of Home Cooking,  Joan made this casserole for our 2012 Valentine’s Day dinner.

2 eggs, beaten
1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. plain yogurt
3-oz. pkg. crumbled feta cheese
2 c. shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced
8-oz. pkg. angel hair
16-oz. jar of chunky salsa
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled, cleaned and divided
8-oz. pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese

In a medium bowl, combine first 9 ingredients; set aside. Spread half the pasta in a greased 13”x9” baking pan. Cover with salsa; add half teh shrimp. Spread remaining pasta over shrimp; top with egg mixture. Add remaining shrimp and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.

Aunt Winnie's Recipes

Aunt Winnie sent these two recipes in a response to Joan's request for bridal shower items.

Aunt Winnie in England

Curried Fruit

1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup oleo or butter (1 stix)

Melt and pour over drained canned fruit - 9 by 13 pan

1 lg. can each
                 pears (sliced)
                 peaches (sliced)
                 pineapple chunks

Optional
                 1 sm. mandarin oranges
                 1 sm. jar cherries

Bake in oven 325˚ for 1 hour

May refrigerate overnite.

Aunt Winnie in Action

Summer Dessert (Grandkids renamed it Pepto-bismol)

1 - 8oz. Kool Whip or heavy cream
1 pt. (2 cups0 softened sherbert
1 cup boiling water
1 lg. Jello or 2 sm. (to match sherbert)

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Add softened sherbert, fold in Kool Whip.
May use electric beater.
After dissolving jello, place in frig.
Do not cover. Can be made previous nite.